The idea is to stall the early game with Instant and Sorcery tokens, bringing Growing Ranks and Rhys the Redeemed online followed by either Caller of the Pack or Herald of the Host. Using Rhys the Redeemed to copy the tokens created by the former during combat, giving me a huge arsenal of Trample and Flying tokens too splatter my opponents with. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar work to pump out tokens, bolster my creatures, attack or gain life/card draw. This deck is a rough first draft, just something I put together rather quickly but with a token theme in mind. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated.
The local meta is pretty casual, only two Wrath of God cards make the rounds, and each is owned by a different player. Board wipes happen, but I tend too just go with the flow or try to eliminate those Wrath Players first. I'm mostly interested with the interaction between a triggering Caller of the Pack / Herald of the Host + Rhys the Redeemed. I may be focusing too heavily on the token theme, so any advice would be sound. Thanks!
I have a populate deck and its a lot of fun. I have difficulty giving advice about this deck because I would just turn it into my deck. That said, i'll give it a shot. I know multiplayer metas vary drastically between playgroups but running caller of the pack with no mana excel or card advantage (I don't count nissa as she would never live long enough to get her ultimate in my group) seems problematic to me. Realistically you will have 7 mana on turn 9 or 10? Then they have to live long enough to actually attack, multiple times. I would have killed you long before that.
I know you like rhys the redeemed but unless i'm missing something (which is certainly possible) it just seems like a less effective version of parallel lives in this deck. Doesn't parallel lives double the tokens from myriad every turn for a one time cost that is less then rhys's ability anyway?
I really like populate but it seems like you want a Myriad deck. I'm not really sure what the populate cards are gaining you.
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I was the guy playing the relentless rats deck back during mirrodin and kamigawa blocks. Yes, cranial extraction was used on me. No, I didn't win much. Yes, I do have a relentless rats edh deck. No, it doesn't win much either...
There's a Selesnya Populate decklist somewhere in the depths of my sig.
Best thing in it? Mimic Vat.
1) Get something horrible under the Vat.
2) Hit your upkeep and trigger Growing Ranks.
3) Activate the Vat in response.
4) Populate the token you've just got from the Vat. Keep it past the end of turn.
5) Profit!
Doesn't parallel lives double the tokens from myriad every turn for a one time cost that is less then rhys's ability anyway?
Yes, that is true. The difference between Parallel Lives and Rhys the Redeemed is that the former would only create more tokens that would then be exiled at the end of combat. Using Rhys' copy ability lets you create multiple tokens that will all function as Caller of the Pack or Herald of the Host without the exile effect, essentially letting you copy those cards, which will all trigger their own myriad effect, which you could then copy again next turn.
Theoretically in a 6-person multiplayer group you could attack with Herald of the Host making 4 tokens that are replicas of that card, using Rhys the Redeemed to copy those tokens. The original tokens will be exiled at the end of combat but those created by Rhys stay on the battlefield. You now have five 4/4 Flying Vigilance blockers, and if you attacked with all of them again next turn you would create 20 more tokens. With a single Growing Ranks in play you instead have 6 on your next turn, you would generate 24 tokens instead. Use Rhys to rinse and repeat.
However I appreciate all the suggestions from everyone and will look into shoring up the deck as I go along. Selesnya is probably my favorite style of deck building, but I admit I've run into trouble trying to build an effective multiplayer variant that isn't simply Green Elf tokens splashed with White. Thanks all for the suggestions.
For the sake of discussion I don't think Rhys is competing for the same slot as Parallel Lives at all. Rhys does something on its own each and every turn without requiring that you invest additional cards. It's also a big "over the top" finisher that has value even when drawn late when you already have an established board. Sure, it's no Craterhoof Behemoth, but this card has a value early whereas most finishers don't. I also don't hate playing 4 because if you draw too many it doesn't matter because this gives you something to do with your mana every turn if nothing else. If it dies, cool, play your other copies. I know, putting a 1/1 into play isn't exactly stellar but at least it's something.
Your deck seems sweet but it feels too fair for my blood. I personally always play 2x Shamanic Revelation in my token decks because I refuse to play decks without card draw. The actual best card for this deck would be Greater Good but it's pricey so I'm not going to push it too hard. Still, Greater Good + Myriad is broken as Hell. I've literally had to start playing Reliquary Tower in my GW Token decks because of it. That aside you want some amount of card draw in this badboy and Shamanic Revelation has always been awesome for me.
I've played with Sundering Growth in the past and immediately removed it for Serenity, Aura of Silence, Aura Shards, Fracturing Gust, Sylvan Primordial, anything else. I even play Sylvan Offering as a 4 of in basically all of my Token decks so I have another "Advent of the Wurm" that you realistically don't. The card has been terrible for me and I'll happily play almost anything else. Oh, I get that you have Growing Ranks, but even when I play with Doubling Season I'm still extremely happy to have a card like Serenity or Fracturing Gust in my lists. Mass removal is too freaking powerful to omit and it doesn't matter if you have to 2-for-N yourself to cast them in my mind.
Your mileage may vary but when mass removal is light I think that Sylvan Offering is basically broken. Not "good," not "above average," I'm talking stupidly overpowered. My personal experience 95% of the time is that it puts 12+ power into play on turns 4+ and subsequently smashes people. The person who you give tokens to rarely has any incentive to mess with you and and since your deck presumably has cards like Intangible Virtue you come out way ahead anyways. When Wraths are few and far between other players don't have answers to a 4 mana 12/12 across 8 bodies and it only gets worse from there. It won't outright win the game but it will deal so much damage that winning becomes academic in the long-run. Again, I understand that these cards seems scary since they "help another player" but I just give the tokens to the "worst player" or whatever, often buying myself an ally, and from there the card is literally God tier.
Out of curiosity is there a particular reason why you don't have any Intangible Virtues? I get that you have Nissas but I think that Virtue is freaking bonkers in the "all tokens" deck. You should also play at least 1 copy of Gavony Township. The card is absurd in Token decks. Hell, even Oran-Rief, the Vastwood is sweet.
Thanks for the advice Prid3; I've been reading your analysis on the various colours for multiplayer for the last few weeks, getting a lot of great ideas. Please keep up the great work!
I like Shamanic Revelation a lot, along with Serenity. I didn't know about those cards existed. Serenity just makes me happy and tingly all over. We have a player who runs a heavy artifact / enchantment deck; this card would make him sad. Intangible Virtue is solid, I didn't include it because I was too focused on the token theme without some support. Defiantly gave me a lot to mull over, much appreciated.
I'm a big fan of aura shards. I highly recommend it over most other artifact and enchantment hate. This is one card that i have never been disappointed with. It usually ends up playing as "Destroy all opponents artifacts and enchantments forever" until it's dealt with.
I had nearly forgotten about this deck. Well, "deck" is a strong word. It needs a heavy overhaul to be truly competitive and functional, I may just go back and revisit this idea. Thanks for the input mate!
For cuts I recommend Acidic Slime, a 2 drop (you have 7, 6 should work), Garruk and the aforementioned Splicer + Master. They're not horrendous cards or anything but they aren't what the decks needs IMO.
I also think that 25 lands is almost strictly worse than having mana dorks to enable turn 2 Pods/GSZs for 2 and whatnot. Green gets the privilege of playing 1 CMC mana dorks which are easily some of the strongest 1 drops in the game.
But a decent board position and the podding for Jazal is a kill. (though sadly at sorcery speed so it's not a surprise.
But he's no ETB engine. That's correct.
However pod for him before the attack and pod him away next turn after the attack is pretty effective...
I gotta go with Xyx on this one. I play a lot of Birthing Pod and you're thinking too far down the road. For me I'm thinking turn 1 mana elf turn 2 Pod turn 3 Viridian Emissary + Pod it into Wood Elves turn 4 Pod it into Academy Rector turn 5 Pod it into Thragtusk etc. There's no "big board of tokens" or anything when that occurs. You need a fire-and-forget 4 drop that provides immediate value because your goal is to keep going up the chain and that's where Academy Rector demolishes the competition. Hell, you can even tutor out a Collective Blessing if you want which makes him a permanent Jazal that costs no mana!
I agree with you that Jazal is a POWERHOUSE in the lategame for Token decks. I face him all the time in EDH and he routinely makes Craterhoof Behemoth'd armies look puny. The problem is that this isn't that style of deck. He needs a faster, more consistent gameplan that ignore removal and that doesn't rely on spending a bunch of mana to Overrun on turn 3-4.
I'm looking for some feedback on a casual Selesnya deck I'm putting together for the kitchen table.
Lands
Sunpetal Grove x4
Wooded Bastion x4
Forest x8
Plains x8
Creatures
Rhys the Redeemed x4
Caller of the Pack x4
Herald of the Host x4
Planeswalkers
Gideon, Ally of Zendikar x2
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar x2
Enchantments
Growing Ranks x4
Instant / Sorcery
Advent of the Wurm x4
Call of the Conclave x4
Selesnya Charm x4
Sundering Growth x4
The idea is to stall the early game with Instant and Sorcery tokens, bringing Growing Ranks and Rhys the Redeemed online followed by either Caller of the Pack or Herald of the Host. Using Rhys the Redeemed to copy the tokens created by the former during combat, giving me a huge arsenal of Trample and Flying tokens too splatter my opponents with. Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar work to pump out tokens, bolster my creatures, attack or gain life/card draw. This deck is a rough first draft, just something I put together rather quickly but with a token theme in mind. Any constructive criticism would be appreciated.
The local meta is pretty casual, only two Wrath of God cards make the rounds, and each is owned by a different player. Board wipes happen, but I tend too just go with the flow or try to eliminate those Wrath Players first. I'm mostly interested with the interaction between a triggering Caller of the Pack / Herald of the Host + Rhys the Redeemed. I may be focusing too heavily on the token theme, so any advice would be sound. Thanks!
I know you like rhys the redeemed but unless i'm missing something (which is certainly possible) it just seems like a less effective version of parallel lives in this deck. Doesn't parallel lives double the tokens from myriad every turn for a one time cost that is less then rhys's ability anyway?
I really like populate but it seems like you want a Myriad deck. I'm not really sure what the populate cards are gaining you.
Best thing in it? Mimic Vat.
1) Get something horrible under the Vat.
2) Hit your upkeep and trigger Growing Ranks.
3) Activate the Vat in response.
4) Populate the token you've just got from the Vat. Keep it past the end of turn.
5) Profit!
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Yes, that is true. The difference between Parallel Lives and Rhys the Redeemed is that the former would only create more tokens that would then be exiled at the end of combat. Using Rhys' copy ability lets you create multiple tokens that will all function as Caller of the Pack or Herald of the Host without the exile effect, essentially letting you copy those cards, which will all trigger their own myriad effect, which you could then copy again next turn.
Theoretically in a 6-person multiplayer group you could attack with Herald of the Host making 4 tokens that are replicas of that card, using Rhys the Redeemed to copy those tokens. The original tokens will be exiled at the end of combat but those created by Rhys stay on the battlefield. You now have five 4/4 Flying Vigilance blockers, and if you attacked with all of them again next turn you would create 20 more tokens. With a single Growing Ranks in play you instead have 6 on your next turn, you would generate 24 tokens instead. Use Rhys to rinse and repeat.
However I appreciate all the suggestions from everyone and will look into shoring up the deck as I go along. Selesnya is probably my favorite style of deck building, but I admit I've run into trouble trying to build an effective multiplayer variant that isn't simply Green Elf tokens splashed with White. Thanks all for the suggestions.
Your deck seems sweet but it feels too fair for my blood. I personally always play 2x Shamanic Revelation in my token decks because I refuse to play decks without card draw. The actual best card for this deck would be Greater Good but it's pricey so I'm not going to push it too hard. Still, Greater Good + Myriad is broken as Hell. I've literally had to start playing Reliquary Tower in my GW Token decks because of it. That aside you want some amount of card draw in this badboy and Shamanic Revelation has always been awesome for me.
I've played with Sundering Growth in the past and immediately removed it for Serenity, Aura of Silence, Aura Shards, Fracturing Gust, Sylvan Primordial, anything else. I even play Sylvan Offering as a 4 of in basically all of my Token decks so I have another "Advent of the Wurm" that you realistically don't. The card has been terrible for me and I'll happily play almost anything else. Oh, I get that you have Growing Ranks, but even when I play with Doubling Season I'm still extremely happy to have a card like Serenity or Fracturing Gust in my lists. Mass removal is too freaking powerful to omit and it doesn't matter if you have to 2-for-N yourself to cast them in my mind.
Your mileage may vary but when mass removal is light I think that Sylvan Offering is basically broken. Not "good," not "above average," I'm talking stupidly overpowered. My personal experience 95% of the time is that it puts 12+ power into play on turns 4+ and subsequently smashes people. The person who you give tokens to rarely has any incentive to mess with you and and since your deck presumably has cards like Intangible Virtue you come out way ahead anyways. When Wraths are few and far between other players don't have answers to a 4 mana 12/12 across 8 bodies and it only gets worse from there. It won't outright win the game but it will deal so much damage that winning becomes academic in the long-run. Again, I understand that these cards seems scary since they "help another player" but I just give the tokens to the "worst player" or whatever, often buying myself an ally, and from there the card is literally God tier.
Out of curiosity is there a particular reason why you don't have any Intangible Virtues? I get that you have Nissas but I think that Virtue is freaking bonkers in the "all tokens" deck. You should also play at least 1 copy of Gavony Township. The card is absurd in Token decks. Hell, even Oran-Rief, the Vastwood is sweet.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
I like Shamanic Revelation a lot, along with Serenity. I didn't know about those cards existed. Serenity just makes me happy and tingly all over. We have a player who runs a heavy artifact / enchantment deck; this card would make him sad. Intangible Virtue is solid, I didn't include it because I was too focused on the token theme without some support. Defiantly gave me a lot to mull over, much appreciated.
Academy Rector :D!
For cuts I recommend Acidic Slime, a 2 drop (you have 7, 6 should work), Garruk and the aforementioned Splicer + Master. They're not horrendous cards or anything but they aren't what the decks needs IMO.
I also think that 25 lands is almost strictly worse than having mana dorks to enable turn 2 Pods/GSZs for 2 and whatnot. Green gets the privilege of playing 1 CMC mana dorks which are easily some of the strongest 1 drops in the game.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold
(Yes, I know those extra generated knights and rhinos don't attack.)
How about Jazal Goldmane as four drop?
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
But he's no ETB engine. That's correct.
However pod for him before the attack and pod him away next turn after the attack is pretty effective...
My meta: 3 or 4 player free for all, anything goes but boring games or broken decks cause a vote to end that game.
Oh my God if I could Reveillark/Karmic Guide that thing back I would be so happy XD.
I gotta go with Xyx on this one. I play a lot of Birthing Pod and you're thinking too far down the road. For me I'm thinking turn 1 mana elf turn 2 Pod turn 3 Viridian Emissary + Pod it into Wood Elves turn 4 Pod it into Academy Rector turn 5 Pod it into Thragtusk etc. There's no "big board of tokens" or anything when that occurs. You need a fire-and-forget 4 drop that provides immediate value because your goal is to keep going up the chain and that's where Academy Rector demolishes the competition. Hell, you can even tutor out a Collective Blessing if you want which makes him a permanent Jazal that costs no mana!
I agree with you that Jazal is a POWERHOUSE in the lategame for Token decks. I face him all the time in EDH and he routinely makes Craterhoof Behemoth'd armies look puny. The problem is that this isn't that style of deck. He needs a faster, more consistent gameplan that ignore removal and that doesn't rely on spending a bunch of mana to Overrun on turn 3-4.
Guilds of Ravnica - Commander 2018 - Core 2019 - Battlebond - Dominaria - Rivals of Ixalan - Ixalan - Commander 2017 - Hour of Devastation - Amonket - Aether Revolt - Commander 2016 - Kaladesh - Conspiracy 2 - Eldritch Moon - Shadows Over Innistrad - Oath of the Gatewatch - Commander 2015 - Battle for Zendikar - Magic Origins - Dragons of Tarkir
Green - Blue - Red - White - Gold